Golf ball retriever



Oct. 20, 1953 E. e. LOCKIE cow BALL RETRIEVER 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed May 29 1950 INVENTOR. E 6. LOCK/E ATTORNEY Oct. 20, 1953 E. G. LOCKIE 2,656,061

GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Filed May 29, 1950 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. E. 6. LOCK/E ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Edward G. Lockie, Bettendorf, Iowa Application May 29, 1950, Serial No. 164,883

8 Claims.

The present invention relates, in general, to machines for picking up objects from the ground and, particularly, to machines for picking up golf balls from golf courses, and the like. Among the objects of this invention is the provision of a simple and sturdy machine adapted to be drawn across a driving range where the driven balls are found, and to pick up the balls and deposit them in a container for that purpose; and the provision of a golf ball retrieving machine which includes a plurality of rubber-tired wheels arranged in such spaced relation that, as the machine passes across the ground on which golf balls are lying, the balls will be picked up by the resilient tire-like peripheries of the wheels and carried by the rotation of the wheels and deposited in a container carried by the machine to receive the balls; while, in its more generic aspects, this machine may be used for picking up crops, such as fruit, nuts, or the like, which are harvested by being picked up from the ground.

This invention further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of the parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have shown therein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 33, Fig. 2; and

Figs. 4 to 7 are diagrammatic sectional views showing the operation of this machine.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings for a more complete description of this invention. The frame of this golf ball retriever is indicated in its entirety by the numeral I and includes a pair of side bars 2 and 3 interconnected by a pair of fore-and-aft spaced crossbars and 6. The front ends of the side bars 2 and 3 are pivotally connected at 8 to a supporting wheeled front truck In which includes a front yoke H, the rear ends of which are connected by a crossbar l2 secured to the ends of the side bars of the yoke at their upper edges and rearwardly of the pivot points 8, the crossbar i2 overlying the front portions of the side bars 2 and 3. The forward portions of the truck frame converge and carry suitable bearing means in which the upper end of the spindle section Id of a wheel fork I5 is rotatably positioned. The lower portion of the wheel fork receives a front supporting wheel IS. A stub tongue I8 is fixed to the upper portion of the wheel fork l5 and pivotally receives the rear end of an associated draft member l9 by which the machine is drawn.

The rear ends of the side bars 2 and 3 are formed to extend downwardly and rearwardly, as indicated at 22 and 23, and these frame portions are apertured to receive a transverse axle 24 on which a plurality of wheels 25 are mounted. The wheels may be journaled on the axle, or they may be fixed thereto and the axle journaled in the frame portions 22 and 23, as desired. Each wheel 25 includes a pair of dished or convex web members 26 which are apertured to receive the axle 24, and each wheel is provided with a rubber or rubber-like tire 21 which is substantially round in cross-section. The wheels are separated by spacing drums 28 and the drums and wheels are held in proper interconnected relation by four bolts 29, extending therethrough. The wheels are so spaced that, when they roll over a golf ball lying on the ground, the ball is held between the tire-like peripheries or tread portions of the adjacent wheels and are retained frictionally therebetween. Fig. 4 shows the machine approaching a golf ball on the ground and Fig. 5 shows how the weight of the machine will force the ball into engagement with the tires of two adjacent wheels, which roll together by virtue of the spacing drums 28 and the bolts 29.

A curved upper shield or guard 30 is carried by the frame I above the wheels 25. The front edge of the shield 3!) is connected in any suitable way to the rearward crossbar t, as by lugs 34, as shown in Fig. 3. The shield 30is curved concentrically with the wheels, and it extends down around the rear side of the wheels in closely spaced relation, the rear and lower edge of the shield or guard being secured, as by welding, to a transverse bar 33 which is attached at its ends to the rear ends of the downturned frame portions 22 and 23.

A plurality of stripper bars 36, secured at their forward and lower ends to the rear crossbar 6, extend into the spaces between the wheels, as best shown in Figs. 4 to 7, far enough to pass under a ball held between adjacent wheel tires. As the wheels rotate, the stripper bars 36 dislodge the balls from between the wheels, whereupon the balls roll forwardly .by. gravity along the upper side of each stripper bar and into ballreceivin means carried on the frame. Preferably, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, such ballreceiving means consists of a pair of rectangular containers 4|, each of which has front and rear flanges adapted to rest on the crossbars 5 and 6 but, when filled, they may readily be lifted from the machine. For the purpose of deflecting balls on the ground into the spaces between the retrieving wheels, I provide depending deflector bars 42, fixed at their upper ends, as by welding, to the rear crossbar 6. Secured to the forward side at the lower end of each of the deflector bars 32 is a forwardly extending lug 43 which, ;during the passage of the machine over the ground, aids in pushing balls on the ground over into positions where they may be picked up by the wheels 25.

Attention is called to the fact that the balls are engaged by the wheels and the shield so that they are'rolled up between the wheels and shield as-the machine moves forwardly.

The operaticnoi the m a'chin'e of the present invention is-b'eli'eved to beclear from theabcvc description. As'the machineis pulled over the groundpthe -de'fiectors l2, ll3 place the golf balls min a position to pass into the space between adjacent wheels. As the machine passes over the balls, the latter are held between the tirell-lie peripheral portions and the shield-2t and are carried-by the-continued rotation-of the wheels upand -into'the guard or shield "St. The latter thenen ages the balls 'assshowntin Fig. 6, cansing themto roltalong, the wheels embracing the "balls 'until the latter :are brought upwardly to points :wh'erezithey-are removedi'rrom.between the wheelsfby the stripper :bars '36. After being dislodged by :the latter, .the balls roll downwardly :androrwardlyalong:the bars .3 5 and into the container 1 51. .Since :eachside wall of each of 'the'tire-like peripheral portions can be deflected laterally inwardly when a ball .is encountered, independently otthe opposite side wall, .when a ball is 1 held between ;-two adjacent tire portions 2?, it does not interfereyvith another ball being .held bctweenzthezother sideof either of said tire portions :and: the nextradi acent tire portions.

,WhileI havaillustrated'sa part ofa single unit,

it will beunderstoodthat .as. many units may be .used-,'side:by:side, vas are desired. It is customary tomseethree units, side by side, with thirteen wheels, each, :but one person :has purchased rsix unitsiso that-he ma'yrcover approximately twenty feet at a time.

It is ofcourse understood-that the specific description of structure set forth-above .rnay be departed from without departing; from the spirit of this invention asdisclosed in this: specification and as. defined by theappended claims.

Having-now described my invention l claim:

l. A golf ball '1'etriever coniprising .a frame, including sidebars spaced apart laterally, .a'roller comprising a. plurality iofsaxiallyaligned wheels, each'hav-in'g a resilient tire-like periphery with side wall portions .di-splaceable laterally inwardly independently of one another, said wheels being interconnected to rotate togethenran axle'o'n which: said wheels :are mounted for rotation in said a frame, between the :sidebars, said wheels being spaced apart .a distance such that, when the wheelsflroll pver a golf ball lying on the grcundzthe::gol; bal1.wil1 be held between the sidewall portions 'o'fathe .tire-like peripheries of two adjacent-Wheels rand bei'carried upwardly :by the rotation (of; the wheels, la shield; covering the upper part of the wheels, a crossbar fixed at its ends to said side bars just in advance of said wheels, a plurality of stripper bars fixed to said crossbar and extending into the spaces between the wheels for removing any balls held by the wheels and the shield, and one or more containers carried adjacent said stripper bars for receiving golf balls stripped from said wheels by said bars.

2. lv'lfeans for picking up substantially uniformly sized objects from the ground, comprising a roller having a plurality of more than two -'substantially hollow tire-like peripheral sections, each having axially spaced apart side walls lying in axially spaced apart planes lying normal to the axis of rotation of said roller, and the two side .w-allsof each peripheral section being separately and individually displaceable toward one another, carried by said roller in such axially spacedapart relation that, when said roller passes over one or more of said objects on the groundsaid objects tend to beheld between adjacent side wall portions of said peripheral sections andbe carried around bythe continued rotationof the rollenboth side wall portions of any one peripheral-section being deflected toward one another when two'of said objects, lying on the ground in relatively closetran-sverse relation, are picked up at the same time at substantially directly opposite sides of the same peripheral section, and means forstfipping said. objects from between said side walls after said objects have "been carried around to the upper portion of the roller.

3. Means for picking up substantially uniformly sized objects from the ground, comprising aplurality of more than'two co'axially positioned, peripherally continuous, annular members, each havinga pair of axially spaced apart side wall portions individually and separately ,displaceable inwardly toward the other and in dependently of the other, said annular members beingspaced apart axially to embrace and hold one ofsttid obj cts b tw each pa r of adiacently positioned members when the latter are rolled pversaidobject while said object is lying ojnlthe ground, and means for removin said object irombetwe'en said members after the embraced object, has. been carried beyond the upper portions ,of said members.

=4.'M'eans as defined by claim 3 in which a curved guard member overlies said inembers'in substantially con-centric relation and is spaced irorn said members a distance appreciably less than the distance between adjacent elements, said guard being thereby adapted to Contact and retain said object engaged between said-mama 'be'rs untilitreaches a position to be acted upon by said removing means.

5. Means for picking up from the ground obj'ec'ts of substantially ufniform size, coinprisin'ga roller including a plurality of gaxially aligned wheels, each having a resilient tire-likeperiphery with a pair of axially spaced-apart sidewall portions facing axially outwardly in opposite directionsgfirorothe plane of the wheel, said axially outwardly facing side wall portions being displaceable inwardly independently of; one another, a jframe'for supporting said wheels, means for mounting said roller in said frame, said wheels being spaced apart a distance such that, when ,the wheels roll over'oneof said objects lying on the ground, it willbe, held between. theside wall portions ,ofthe tire-like peripheries of two adjacent wheels and be carried upwardly by thero'ta- ,tion. of said wheels, and means carried by .the

frame for removing objects from adjacent wheels.

6. A device for picking up relatively small objects from the ground, comprising a frame, including side bars spaced apart laterally, a roller comprising a plurality of axially aligned wheels, each having a resilient tire-like periphery with side wall portions displaceable laterally inwardly independently of one another, said wheels being interconnected to rotate together, an axle on which said wheels are mounted for rotation in said frame, between the side bars, said wheels being spaced apart a distance such that, when the wheels roll over one of said objects lying on the ground, said object will be held between the side wall portions of the tire-like peripheries of the two adjacent wheels and be carried upwardly by the rotation of the wheels, a shield covering the upper part of the wheels, a crossbar affixed at its ends to said side bars just in advance of said wheels, a plurality of stripper bars affixed to said crossbar and extending into the spaces between the wheels for removing any of said objects held by the wheels and the shield, and one or more containers carried adjacent said stripper bars for receiving any objects stripped from said wheels by said bars.

7. Means for picking up from the ground relatively spherical objects of substantially uniform size, comprising a frame, a pair of axially spacedapart wheels, journaled in said frame, each having an annular tire-like periphery having axially spaced-apart side walls, and a curved shield carried by the frame in concentric relation with respect to the wheels, said shield being spaced substantially radially outwardly of the 6 tire-like peripheries of said wheels a distance approximately the same as the axial distance between adjacent side walls of said wheels.

8. The invention defined by claim 7, further characterized by said shield extending over the top of said wheels and beyond, stripper elements carried by the frame and positioned between said wheel peripheries and below said shield, the latter after it passes over the tops of said wheels being spaced farther from said stripper elements than from said wheels at points before the shield passes over the tops of the wheels, whereby objects picked up by the wheels and held between the shield and said wheels, as they roll up the shield during the rotation of the wheels, will be released from between the shield and the wheels after they pass over the tops of the wheels, and an object-receiving container carried by said frame in a position to receive said objects after they are released from between said shield and said wheels.

EDWARD G. LOCKIE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 666,689 Phillips Jan. 29, 1901 1,099,540 Douglass June 9, 1914 2,365,540 Fonken Dec. 19, 1944 2,413,679 Binder Jan. 7, 1947 2,482,355 McBride Sept. 20, 1949 2,484,437 Wells Oct. 11, 1949 2,539,596 Smith Jan. 30, 1951 

